van HellSing on 10/11/2008 at 20:51

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OK, I think this is badly needed here, since people (you know who you are) are spurting so much misinformation, ludicrous accusations and general vitriol it's sad.

Props go to MrsP for the original thread on the Eidos boards.

The following are verbatim quotes from the Deus Ex 3 community manager, René. Nothing was changed, I even removed the bolding of important phrases that MrsP used.

DEUS EX 3 IN A NUTSHELL
The overall feeling I get is that people are worried DX3 is more IW/GoW than DX1. This is is not true. DX3 is more DX1 than anything. I've said this before but it bears repeating.

First off, yes some things are changing:

-Auto health regen (although we haven't been told exactly how this will work...)
-Stealth to line-of-sight and sound instead of darkness
-Contextual third person elements

Maybe even just a slight change to one of these is a deal-breaker for you and I can't change that so I'm sorry. However, if you think DX1 is much more than these three elements, then you will be happy:

-Different ways to solve any objective depending on your play style (social, hacking, stealth, or action)
-Customization of your character (augmentations) and weapons
-Deep story with a strong consipracy
-Lots of social interaction with numerous characters
-Consequences to your actions that affect things down the line
-A near future (Cyberpunk) setting
-Open levels with limited load times (think DX1 not IW)
-Random explorable elements with earned experience points
-Global travel
-More stuff I'm forgetting

RPG
Deus Ex 3 is an RPG. An action/RPG like the first one (Deus Ex).

FIRST PERSON OR THIRD PERSON
The game is FIRST person, but automatically switches to third person for some contextual actions.
You, as the player, do not have the ability to swap between views...it's a first person game but there are times where we want you to see Adam doing cool things.

AUTO HEALTH
Deus Ex 3 will use auto-health regeneration. This is a departure from the original but the industry as a whole has grown up and changed quite a bit in the last eight years and the designers didn't want people exploring levels just for health packs or having to reload to an old save game because they messed up a scenario and couldn't advance. I know some people actually liked the exact scenario I just described but this is a decision the team made.
Yep there is health regenerating, and we know some people will not like this. But like another poster mentioned, we accept that and move on. Hopefully you will come to accept it and like other aspects of the game. I could try and explain things further but I would guess that it would do no good.

Q (by CarloGervasi):Does the auto-health regeneration have an in-game explanation at least?
A: Yes.

COVER SYSTEM
The design has been updated to utilize a cover system should you choose to engage it. As the game is still 1st person, it's only if you press a key when up against a wall that the view changes to a 3rd person perspective. As soon as you move away from the wall, the game returns to 1st person automatically.
So it's just an option if you want to play that way. If you like the good 'ol DX1 style, you don't have to engage the cover system if you don't want to, so you'll see even less of the contextual 3rd person elements. You can just as easily walk up to that same wall in 1st person and never see the 3rd person cover. It's just an option if you want to see the way Adam looks with augmentations you've chosen throughout the game.

STEALTH SYSTEM
Stealth in DX3 is based off line-of-sight and sound propagation. You can hide everywhere you see fit as long as you're hidden by an obstacle and you don't produce too much noise. Think MGS1&2. In the first DX an enemy could be three feet in front of you but as long as you were in darkness he would not detect you. I mean, graphically in DX3, you still have light and shadows but the shadows are no longer used as the primary stealth element; it's line-of-sight.

STORY/PLOTLINE
The story and conspiracy elements are every bit a Deus Ex game. It's awesome.
The writing team at EM is made up of many talented and experienced people. And did you notice the Sheldon reference...?

MULTIPATH/NON LINEAR
It's still based around making decisions which have consequences, selecting from a multi-path, multi-solution approach in a non-linear space (think DX1 not Invisible War), and you're able to customize your character (Adam) as well as your weapons. DX3 is an action/RPG just like the first game.
When it comes to freedom, having space to search and roam in, and to run the streets and sewers, don't worry - we have that.
This was just a magazine first look. That stuff will come next time.

AUGMENTATION & TIMELINE
Adam has mechanical augmentations. Paul and JC were the first of the nano augmented. That's why it makes sense as a Prequel...remember Anna and Gunther were mechanically augmented. And with mechanical augmentations, you will actually be able to see Adam look awesome whereas JC looked pretty normal.

LOADING/LEVEL CHANGE
Our tech supports streaming of data so the transition from indoors to outdoors will be seamless.

FETUS IN TRAILER
I don't think it's a character in the game. I think it has hidden meaning...

HACKING
Hacking is a major pillar of gameplay and is certainly not a mini game. (Sorry Bioshock)
Hacking in Deus Ex 3 is a significant gameplay option which you can modify with augmentations if that's the way you develop your character.
Our hacking is well beyond a "mini game" and is really freaking cool.

CHOICE & CONSEQUENCE
The social aspect of the game is extremely important. Do not fear.
Choice and consequence is a major design influence. This is still a Deus Ex game.

GLOBAL/LOCAL/SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
Don't worry - we know that traveling the world is one of the core values for Deus Ex...
You have city hubs to explore in a non-linear fashion.
There are different routes and different ways to complete an objective.
The social element is huge. There are tonnes of characters to interact with and the story is massive with a global conspiracy.

CHARACTER/AUGMENTATION DEVELOPMENT
You do gain experience points throughout the game which you can use to either upgrade yourself or your weapons. It's a choice.
There are many augmentations in the game so like the first one, you can choose how your character (Adam) develops.

TRANSHUMANISM
I have to say that the Transhumanism movement is a major influence in Deus Ex 3 and Eidos Montréal's development team.

BOSS FIGHTS
Deus Ex 1 had boss fights. Walton Simons, Gunther Hermann, etc. They just weren't the Zelda "hit the boss in the eye three times to kill it" kind of boss fight, and neither is Deus Ex 3's.

SHOOTING ACCURACY
In DX1, if your database stats weren't high enough with the weapon you had equipped, it could be extremely difficult to hit a target right in front of you. So yeah this element is changing, but that's not to say that your accuracy will stay the same if you're running or looking around wildly.

DX1 VSDX3
Maybe I'm biased but I also realize that DX1, as good as it was/is, came out eight years ago and I actually wouldn't mind some elements being updated as long as the core values are respected

Q (by Kieranator): So long story short, instead of bashing DX 1, you're simply raising the bar even higher?
A: That's the goal.


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For now, I cust copypasted MrsP's thread. I'm going to add more recent René quotes next, and possibly link each quote to the corresponding post on the Eidos boards.

Edit: added most important new stuff, I think.

YuSeF on 10/11/2008 at 21:57

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Game ruined. Thanks for playing.

Glad we cleared that up. 3rd person really shows insight into the mind of the developer. He clearly wants to spice up DX with his own personal experience with game design. So now he has to turn it into a peice of shit that is full of fluff and hype and graphics with no real substance to it just like all the other remakes of games and movies. They might as well call it DX:FIGHTERMAN5000! And they could call it an intense FPS with many memorable moments. If it aint broke, don't fix it.

Chade on 10/11/2008 at 22:44

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What? Those two statements are no where near contradicting one another.

In the first he says that the game will switch to third person in some situations, in the second he gives an example of such a situation ... adding that you can avoid this situation if you wish.

I don't see the cause for confusion.

Ostriig on 10/11/2008 at 23:47

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That's not the same thing and you know it.

Look, I understand where you're coming from with this post, and I fully agree that there is no case at this time to declare Deus Ex 3 a "bad game" just yet. We know far too little of it to make up our minds now.

However, taken on an individual basis, many of the complaints leveled against the current trend of development have just cause. While it still has every chance of turning out to be a good game, it is also becoming clearer and clearer that Eidos Montreal are straying from the original in several departments, and possibly towards solutions that may not rub us the right way. And at this point in the game's development, factual criticism has that slim chance of reaching the right ears and maybe changing something for the better.


That it might not turn out a proper Deus Ex as we want it is highly probable, but to call it a piece of shit etc. when you know so little about it is straight-out stupid. Just shut up already.

YuSeF on 11/11/2008 at 00:04

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There you said it yourself. It won't turn out to be DX. I heard this same wishful thinking when Thief 3 was going to be released. I can't wait to see you start crying and whining about how bad the game is a few years from now when it's out. You'll act like you knew all a long. And from what we've heard so far is not promising. And the developers are making the game now so there won't be so magical 180 turn around. dream on.